TRANSITIONING from collegiate sailing to keelboats can be difficult for many young-adult sailors who lack experience or connections. It's not a new problem, and while there are national events and local efforts across the US to retain these young sailors, one program in Rhode Island is having a real and positive impact on the local crew pool.
"You have a lot of people between 18 to 25 that love sailing and maybe do it in college, but then life takes them in different directions, so sailing loses them," says Peter McClennen, a beneficiary and supporter of Sail Newport's EOS Sailing Program. "Our view is that college-age sailors don't really have strong big-boat crew skills. A lot of sailors have never used a winch before and never really worked in anything more than a two-person crew, so we start to introduce the important aspects of teamwork, communication, trim and choreography. We try to have them build two to three role skills so that they can be helpful on other boats."
Sail Newport's EOS Program was founded by a group of local sailors in 2017 in honor of renowned big-boat sailor Edward Oliver Sanchez, known for his work ethic and positive attitude. "Tad was always the first one on the boat, the first person down in the bilge bailing it out, and the last person to leave," says Thomas Loughborough, a professional sailor who coaches with the program. "If you needed a sail moved, he was the first person to jump up and help you move it. The ethos and values of this program were lived by our friend Tad, who was taken from us too soon from bowel cancer in his late 30s."
With a fleet of donated C&C 30s, the program instructs about 40 sailors, who compete in the local weeknight racing series. To maximize learning and skill-building, the boats are helmed by experienced sailors, and each boat has one professional sailor on board to coach.
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